What is an employer’s duty to report on vacancies?

by Kirsten Caddy and Silindokuhle Malaza

The Employment Services Act, No. 4 of 2014 (ESA) was assented to by President Jacob Zuma on 3 April 2014 and promulgated in the Government Gazette as legislation on 7 April 2014. The act will come into operation on a date to be proclaimed by the president in the Government Gazette. In terms of section10 of the Employment Services Act, the minister of labour may make regulations requiring employers to notify the department of labour of any vacancy or new position within their establishments. What does this mean for employers?

Many employers have raised an eyebrow at the onerous reporting obligation this provision has ‘introduced’. However, the obligation to report vacancies to the state is already currently contained in section 23(3) of the Skills Development Act, No. 97 of 1998 (SDA) which provides that:

The minister of labour may require each employer to notify a labour centre, established in terms of the SDA, of any vacancy that may exist within that employer’s organisation.

Therefore, the Employment Services Act doesn’t fundamentally change the current legal position regarding an employer’s duty to report on vacancies as outlined in the SDA.

However, at present the reason why employers aren’t required to report vacancies to the state is because the minister of labour hasn’t issued the requisite notice and/or regulations under the SDA requiring employers to do so and to facilitate the reporting process.

This means that the Employment Services Act simply moves the reporting obligation from the SDA to the ESA. Consequently, the Employment Services Act has not introduced anything new in this regard.